Terragen Effect
by xegil
Summary: Humanity had reached the stars, and began to branch out. But not just to other planets, but into other species as well. Some took on different features, such as hands for feet. Some completely abandoned their mortal shells to live forever. Others...Went beyond all that. Orion's arm/Mass Effect Crossover AU.
1. A brief history

I could hear my own breathe hit the glass of my helmet.

"One small step for man." I chuckled as I heard that. It made me jealous that he was the first one out. At least I was the second.

As he was finally stepping out, I gently began my own descent down the ladder.

My Gloved hand grabbed the rail, and I took my first step. The shoe hit the metal bar, and the second step came next. Then the Third. The fourth...The shoe slipped and I dropped...to the ground that was a few centimeters from my feet.

"You alright there, Barkly?" The captain said. I looked towards him, and saw the beautiful red landscape behind him.

* * *

 **-600 years later-**

Mars shined with the sun behind it. Instead of only barren landscape, bubble cities dotted planet, barely noticeable. But the cities had something off about them; there was smoke rising from some of them, and some were obviously desolate.

Ships were leaving the atmosphere. Hundreds of ships. Some were in obvious disrepair. They were heading in no discernible direction, just not there. Some could even be seen attacking other ships, mechanical arms reaching out and ripping out parts. Once far enough away, these same ships could be seen adding the parts to themselves.

All ships were fleeing the planet...except for a small fleet.

This fleet was different. Unlike the junky ships leaving, these were in pristine condition. Including their weapons. Unlike the randomness of the other ships, these were in formation, and their design were the exact same, possessing a sort of uniformity. The ships eventually reached the orbit of the planet, and dropped hundreds of devices to the planet.

The entire surface of the planet became lit with bright flashes.

* * *

 **-992 years-**

A giant sprawling city rising...

* * *

 **-1000 years-**

...becoming embroiled in a war for power.

* * *

 **-20000 years-**

A remnant of a fallen civilization, tiring of the democratic ways of the small, but still caring nonetheless.

Another planet, this time completely engulfed by...something unnatural. The entire surface was covered by a purple lit up shell, like a civilization had reached its apex and covered the entire planet in a city.

But this was no civilization; This was...an individual.

* * *

 **-?-**

" Sir, the relay is activating!" A navigator shouted, turning around.

"But that can't be! We have no ships on the other side!" I said. I looked at the viewscreen. The infamous rings were spinning, blue light coalescing in the middle."Contact Shanxi! Get me General Williams on the line!"

A massive ship, none like any other I had ever seen, appeared from the relay.

* * *

CODEX ENTRY

The Technocalypse: When massive advancements in technology, such as fabrication and ai, were made, a civilization, without the proper control over its people and technology, would became unstable to the point of catastrophes arising. This moment of technological advancement gone wrong, would be called a 'Technocalypse', and the most infamous one was the 'Technocalypse' of old sol. This event completely destroyed the civilizations of old sol, culminating in the great expulsion.

The Federation: After the fall of old Sol, lost and abandoned colonies began to get into contact with each other, rebuilding civilization into the Federation. The Federation began to expand, colonizing other star systems, bringing back interstellar Civilization. Sadly, as time went on, the rulers engaged in a power struggle, and civilization fell once more.

Archailect: Something that can only be comprehended as a 'machine god'.

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Orion's arm world building project, nor do I own the Mass effect series. This was made purely for fun and not for profit.**

 **EDIT: Realized how confusing this was at first. Added dating, hope this clears it up, but this was my take on timeline summaries.**


	2. A Thousand Thoughts

The light hummed to life. The blue beam concentrated midair, forming a shape. The shape was that of a ship, but none like any other encountered by the Alliance. It's shape was that of a sword, with wings, almost like a hawk.

Another shape formed beside it, this one not of a ship, but of a person. Except this person had mandibles around their mouths, horn-like protrusions cresting to the back of their head, and a strange carapace texture to their skin. It was dressed in armor, with a large, almost impractical, circular collar around their neck. Instead of ordinary shoes, its shoes showed that it only had two large toes.

None of us said anything.

"The images you are seeing were taken 4 hours ago. In that time, the ship had touched ground and the creatures shown here-" the army briefer pointed to the creature, and it grew in size "-Had occupied the entire city of Gradau, 300 klicks from here."

"Intel says that this ship-" the ship enlarged this time "-has since then been deploying troops and resources from the enemy fleet in orbit. To our knowledge, this is the only source of resources for the City's occupying force."

He looked between the other occupants of the room. Approximately sixty-four soldiers were seated, 8 squads with 8 men and women for each. The map changed to a view of the city, with an alien ship highlighted in one area.

"The ship has so far been landing in the same spot every time. Your respective squads will each pilot a mako-" the image changed to a small fleet of makos, moving towards the city."-and will engage in a pincer move." Lines sprung out from the armored vehicles. The lines split up, entering different streets around the city, and converging to a single point.

"Scans also show signs that the weapons are equipped with traces of element zero, which means that we are possibly dealing with kinetic weapons." There were worried murmurs at that. Kinetic weapons were theoretical, but the theory behind them stated that they could easily pierce the hull of a military-grade spaceship. "Go fast, if you encounter enemy troops unload all ammo into them. If you start taking too much damage, abandon your vehicle and continue on foot, and don't come back here. There are enemy troops already converging on this outpost, so we are throwing a last ditch attack. A route has been updated in your maps, to sneak past the enemy forces."

"Alright men. LET'S MOVE OUT!"

* * *

Boots hit the concrete floor, as soldiers ran in file. The hangar was filled with large wheeled, armored vehicles with mini-gun turrets on top of each, and were arrayed in rows of four. The back of each vehicle was opened, allowing the troops to enter each vehicle. A Caucasian middle aged woman with short black hair and N7 armor was standing at the opened entrance of a Mako.

"Move your asses, Move! Move! Move!" I shouted as I stood at the entrance of a Mako, my men running inside.

"Yes Sir!" They all shouted. I tapped each back as they entered, keeping count. She took notice of the new rookie's nervous expression.

"Still going with the stereotype, eh Squad Leader?" Corporal Brandon said as he took a seat by the door. He was of course referring to the 'Bitchy sergeant lady' stereotype.

"Stow it Bran, before I kick your ass." I said, playing along. Considering that we all had family at Gradau, I decided to go easy on him.

"You gonna kick this ass real good, Squad leader?"

"Shut your fucking mouth, Brandy." I said, referring him by his nickname for the alcoholic beverage. I sat at the passenger seat.

"Seriously Brandy, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Lance Corporal Jones commented from his seat. "Everyday you do this, playing the stereotypical squad clown."

"We all need a squad clown." The Engines roared to life. "It lightens up the mood."

"Not when the jokes are as numb as what your girl says about you." Jones said. Everyone inside chuckled.

The gates to the hangar opened, and one by one, the Makos took off.

* * *

"Do you think it's them?" Brandy asked. We had taken the route and sneaked past the enemies heading for base. Everyone would already be gone by the time they got there. We were currently driving through the streets when Brandy asked his question.

"Who?" a soldier asked.

"The aliens. You know, from mars? the ones who built the relays?" Brandy clarified. The Mako shook a little as we came up on a bump.

"I don't fucking know. Sure?" Jones replied, shrugging at the question.

"Intel said that they had Eezo equipment." Private First Class Peterson jumped into the conversation, "We just know how to make engines and grav-plating with Eezo. If these guys can make actual weapons and shielding with-"

"Whoa. wait. Shielding?" Brandy interrupted, "Who said anything about Shielding?"

"You fucking dummy. They scorched an entire fleet. 'Course they got Shielding." Jones responded. The Mako came to a clearing among the buildings.

"But that don't mean they have Eezo shielding" Brandy said.

"Course it does-what the fuck is that smell?" Jones said. I smelled it too. I grasped my nose. "Is it poison gas?"

I was almost about to call everyone to put their helmets on, when-"That's me."

We all looked to Wakka. "What the hell?" "Shoulda known." "Did you fucking fart?"

"It's a luck spray." Wakka said.

"Luck spray?"

"You know, for luck."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Jones asked in frustration, thumb and index finger clasping his nose shut.

"I got it at this cool mystic shop, at this town-colony called 'West Toros'."

" 'West Toros'? Wait. Is it that same shop on 34th Casterly Road?" Brandy asked.

"Yes."

"Dude, that's a fucking pawn shop."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"How would you know?"

"I used to live in-"

The pilot's head exploded. A wetness was sprayed on my face.

"AMBUSH!" Someone shouted. I ducked down as the entire car was peppered in holes, everyone else following my lead.

On the outside, alien soldiers were propped at the windows of buildings, guns erupting in blue lights as they fired on the lone Mako. On the ground of the cockpit, I reached out for a terminal. My hand erupted in blood when it was hit.

"Argh!" I clutched my wounded hand, could feel a finger or two missing. _Screw it._ I quickly reached my hand out and pressed the auto shooting icon. I heard the sound of the turret above us move, and the sound of the mini-gun filled the outside. I could hear screaming and shouting, but not in English.

After a while, the sound stopped, and everything was quiet.

* * *

 _A hundred thoughts branched. Thoughts that could watch, listen, and speak. The thoughts produced their own thoughts, predicting actions and outcomes. The thoughts attempted to sway the attackers for peace, but found that they were blocked...by a million more thoughts that didn't belong to them._

 _The thoughts retreated into themselves, and, in what was a million years to them, contemplated a plan of action. They found that they could form no action against the other. So they called on another being, greater than them, to take on the challenge. A message was sent in a hundred words._

 _A message was received in a thousand._

* * *

"Are you Insane?!" Saren shouted at me, slamming his hands. I was in my cabin, reviewing reports from our long range scanners, when my brother barged in and yelled at me.

"What the spirits are you talking about?" I said, turning away from the terminal I was sitting at.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! Your attack is completely unprovoked and against all ethics!" That absolutely shocked me. Not because it was my own brother saying all this, but he was saying it just a few hours of agreeing that offensive action needed to be taken. Our race were the guardians of the citadel. We couldn't let a primitive race like this open relays. It would be the Rachni wars all over again.

"You were just okay with all of this a moment ago! You even provided advice on dealing with guerrilla attacks." At this, he hesitated. He removed his hands from the desk, and stood back, eyes having a confused look on them.

"I..I...I don't what was wrong with me, but I just had thought this all over." He began to pace, head down. " The race we are dealing is not in contact with the Citadel, or any of the non council races. They don't seem to be that advanced. I mean-" He stopped to look at me. "-They still use bullets and gunpowder for spirit's sake! How the hell are we going to explain this to the Council?!"

"You leave the Council to me." I stood from my seat, looking him in the eye. "This was just a routine law enforcement. It's the job of the entire Turian Hierarchy." Really, what could cause this sort of reaction from my brother?

I walked around my desk, to my brother. "Everything's going well for us, so far. You should get some rest, Brother." I placed a hand on his shoulder. "You look exhausted, despite the fact that you were just sitting around all day."

"I know, I just..." He didn't complete his sentence. I stood there, hand on his shoulder, looking at him. The Turian Hierarchy always protected the council races. The Rachni, the Krogan, and the geth. Saren always believed that too. The fact that he is questioning my orders regarding a hostile species, unnerves me. He wasn't the only one either. I've received a fleet wide report of men questioning orders. They were immediately placed in the brigs of their respective ships from becoming violently vocal. If Saren is also voicing his concern, we could be looking at a fleet wide mutiny. I have to find a way to quell this, fast.

Finally, I released him.

"Report to Med-bay then. In the meantime, I have to give permission for a ship to leave the fleet. We've detected a signal from the outer rims of the system." I told him.

He sighed, "Fine brother."

He turned and walked for the door. It opened with a swoosh automatically. As the door closed, I activated my Omnitool, contacting Med-bay. "My Brother is coming down for a check up. Can you give him any Sedatives?"

* * *

We bagged their bodies, and took their dog tags for good measure. We decided to leave them by the Mako, in the event they are found when the navy comes back to retake Shanxi.

When the fire stopped, we did a count. Brandy and Jones were silent. We exited the vehicle and checked the surrounding area. We found aliens in the surrounding buildings, rattled with bullet holes. When I say rattled, I mean that there were at least one or three wounds on their bodies. Whatever armor they wore, it was strong enough to resist armor piercing rounds. My right hand had lost 3 fingers. We sprayed it with medi-gel.

The Mako, in comparison, looked like a fucking block of -and I'm not kidding when I say this- Swiss cheese. The metal part of the armor didn't even slow down whatever the hell they use as ammo. The only thing that saved us from becoming a crimson pool in the Car, were the sections on the sides that were shielded in prototype Eezo tech.

But some were shooting from above, at the unguarded sections.

I looked at what remained of my Squad. Luckily, we squished to the sides of the Mako. All that's left is me, the Rookie, Private First class Peterson, and Private first class Wakka. "Alright now-"

I looked at Wakka. He was crying. "Hey!" I shouted at him.

I walked over to him and punched him in the face with my good hand, "Get your fucking shit together! We do not have time for this!"

His hand was on his face, eyes wide and directed at me. "Do you understand, soldier?"

"You don't have to hit him." The rooked shouted from behind me, "He just lost-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Rookie." I turned to her. "You just entered my squad. You don't question my command. Especially at a time like this."

I walked towards her. She didn't budge at all, standing proud. As I stood tall above her, I looked straight into her angry eyes with my own.

I then pulled my left fist back and punched her straight in the face.

She fell to ground, clutching her face, blood seeping through her hand. "Or do you want me to just shoot you and leave you here?"

She looked at me anger still on her face. I shot her a look too. She looked down, hand still on her face, a look of submission on her eyes.

"No Sir."

"Good."

* * *

"...And then we'll force them in a pincer move, around the planet. We'll hit, hard and fast, then retreat. We'll cover the retreat with a launch of debris, from a Mining ship-" He pointed at a section of the holographic star system, at an asteroid belt, "-here. It's Captain has offered to help in the retaking Shanxi, considering that he's from there originally." He looked around the room. In it, was a circular table, empty in the middle. Sitting around the table, were about nine admirals, including myself.

It had been a day since the Alliance Navy had recovered a drone carrying a message from Message from a far off colony, Shanxi. It's Orbital Defense fleet had been completely decimated. The enemy, of unknown origins, had come through the relay, destroyed the fleet surrounding the relay, and engaged in a short battle with the fleet surrounding the planet. The speaker in the message was the Captain of the last ship, and it ended abruptly as his ship was exploding inside. We eventually sent a stealth drone to survey the situation.

We've been planning a retaliatory strike ever since.

"But we have no way of knowing if our weapons OR the debris would even affect them." An admiral said, "The Information report stated that all of their missiles had absolutely no effect on them."

"We have to remember-" I started, "-that this was an orbital defense fleet we are talking about. They're only equipped with enough weapons to handle simple pirate or terrorist attacks. Not a military invasion."

"And we aren't equipped for an attack from another space-faring race," Admiral Bolus, what a funny name, piped up, "let alone the same race that could've built the Relays."

"That hasn't been confirmed."

"Yet still, we didn't even prepare for a prothean invasion. The guys in our R&D Divisions ran a model based on Prothean technology capabilities. According to them, any engagement we'd have with the protheans would be a curb stomp." He tapped his two fingers on his desk, emphasizing the last two words. "With OUR teeth on the curb."

"Every information we have on them state they are nothing like them." I interrupted, "In fact, the description of their weaponry is almost identical to the prediction model of what we might attain in the next three decades."

"That doesn't-" Bolus was interrupted, when all our terminals lit up, displaying a report from a patrol fleet within the Solar System.

An unknown fleet had just came through the relay.

* * *

"What is it captain?" An ensign asked. I was wondering the same thing.

We'd had arrived at the coordinates given to us by General Desolas. Here, we discovered a spherical object of unknown origin, just floating here. We feared that this could possibly be an enemy mine, but our scans came up empty, which is strange because nothing of what we've seen regarding the aliens says that they are advance enough to hide from our scans. This brought up the possibility that they are receiving military aid from a species within civilized. It could be the batarians hegemony wanting to stir up trouble, krogan mercenaries continuing the Rebellions, the Quarians trying to get aid from another species, or even their creations...

This situation had just way more complicated.

"Contact the other two patrol ships," I didn't to take a chance, "We're returning to the fleet-"

"Sir!" A bridge crewmen shouted, "The object is moving!"

The Outer surface of the Sphere was shifting, not mechanically, but as if its surface was made of some sort of liquid.

The liquid-metal sphere began to burst, and thousands shifting metal shards flew at us.

* * *

CODEX ENTRY

Auto War: an adaptive war machine, capable self replication and carrying out long term wars on their own. They are fabricated by AutoWar (AW) seeds. AutoWar Seeds come in three variants: BAW (Bio), JAW (Jovian), and SAW(Solar). A BAW utilizes organic matter or lifeforms to construct autowars, and are used for stealth, psychological, and biological warfare. JAWs are more metallic and mechanical, and produces much more combat effective and armored AutoWars. SAWs are launched inside a star, using technology no one but its incomprehensible creators understand, where it uses hydrogen from the star to either create nanoswarms to engulf a the star's system, or poisons the star with matter viruses.

Transapient: A mind that has evolved beyond sapient level intelligence. These beings are less like a life-form, more like an entire sentient location.

Caretaker God: A transapient, usually of artificial origin or copy of another, that has isolated an area inhabited by primitive life, protecting them until they deem them ready.

* * *

 **Author's Note: For those of who you aren't aware, this story is a crossover between mass effect and the Orion's arm world building project (Which I do not own). I'm pretty new here (sorta), but I've gathered enough information on my own to write, and I welcome any reviews that help me with my writing. I'd also like advice primarily on character development.**


	3. I'm Such a Coward

I was an orphan when I joined the Alliance Navy. Dumpster baby, nothing special like being left in a basket at the front door. Grew up a shy kid, if you could believe it, always keeping to myself whenever I could. And when I couldn't, it was probably when I was getting beaten up by the other kids. The beatings continued for a few years...at least until everyone grew into teenagers. That was when I fought back. Knocked out some teeth, popped some shoulders. I became real violent then. Never committed a crime though, other than assault, but the cops weren't paying attention before either. I failed miserably at school, 'You're just a big pile of useless trash' the teachers would call me. After a while, I started to feel trapped. So I left. Joined the military, became N7. I fit right in with the other soldiers, as most were escaping a bad life. Got my own squad, dealing with space pirates here and there.

Then, I got stationed here.

The rain poured, droplets tapping against our red and black armor. The buildings that surrounded us were boxy, being designed for easy deployment and to effectively use up space. Almost all the buildings were completely metal, not a single concrete or glass building in sight.

The squad was staying mostly between the buildings, running cover to cover, never entering open areas. I ran to a cover, and I held up my fist to stop the squad, as I took a peak out from the end of the wall. I was holding on tight to my pistol, one hand being three fingers too short to carry the weight of a rifle. I looked out.

Residential buildings, so far empty. Taller buildings with balconies, also empty so far. I brought my empty hand up, and flung it, motioning everyone to continue moving. Our boots made heavy thumps on the ground as we continued.

I aimed my pistol, checking corners. I could see behind me that the rookie, Wakka, and Peterson were doing the same with their rifles. I noticed a building; shopping center. I motioned everyone to move towards it.

The door wooshed open as we entered. The building was full of empty shelves, people having stacked up on supplies when news of the attack reached them. I stuck my hand out at the rookie and Peterson, motioning them to check out the crating area. I motioned at Wakka to stay with me, as we checked out the back office.

I could feel the rookie glare at me, as she moved with Peterson.

Wakka and I entered the back office. It was empty. I brought out a round and flat device, and placed it on the ground. A blue hologram of the city-colony came to life. I hovered my finger over it, looking for the shopping center.

...There.

We were still three clicks away from the site. Three clicks more of jumping between building to building, cover to cover. Three clicks more of avoiding enemy patrols, who we now know could easily mow us down...Wait...

...Fuck.

It was a trap. It was definitely a trap. It makes absolutely no sense for a military force to place a strategic asset stationery on the ground. They could've just air dropped the supplies all over the city, for their patrols to pick them up. But they knew we would desperately jump at the slightest opportunity to damage their forces. They could also have similar ambushes staged throughout the city. FUCK!

I slammed my good fist down on the concrete floor, the impact just making a small slapping sound. Wakka didn't even notice, as he had his back turned to me, busy looking through the manager's terminal.

They Fucking BAITED us! And we fell for it!

God fucking dammit! Fuck! Fu...Wait.

I opened my eyes, not realizing I was clenching them and my teeth. If this was bait, than that means that they'd still have the ship down on the ground to lure anyone else. Which means we could still go after it.

I turned off the hologram. The rookie and Peterson should be done by now, so I'll call them back to reconvene our plan. But first...

I looked at Wakka. He was still staring at the terminal, obviously trying to avoid talking to me. Such a child...

"I'm sorry." Wakka turned to me, blue eyes looking into mine, "But I had to keep everyone under control."

Wakka appeared to ponder to this, "I know. We're in a war. And we're losing too." He walked towards me, "and we both just lost two friends."

I looked down, remembering Brandy; a Caucasian, green eyed, and brown haired man-child. And Jones; African American, black eyes, his buzz cut hair, and stoic demeanor. Both going at it, a Brandy and Jones duo of moronic arguments. Talking about whether these guys were protheans, whether or not Brandy was limp in bed, whether or not Wakka's "magic luck spray" was from a pawn shop.

And they died almost instantly. Alien bullets bursting their heads. A fucking instant. No dying last words, just an unfinished sentence of him telling Wakka that he used to live in the town where Wakka...

I looked at Wakka, realizing I had been silent for two minutes. I held back a couple of tears forming in my eyes, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

The squad was like a family to me, one I never had. We were together for 2 years, fighting piracy and the occasional terrorists or quelling colonial insurgencies. Obviously, we've lost a couple on the way here. But not like this, not at this level of despair. This sort of despair, we were the ones _giving_ it, not _receiving_ it.

It was at this point, I could feel the warm tears come out. I covered my face with my hands, and sobbed. I sobbed, and sobbed, and sobbed. I felt arms encircle me, pulling me into a hug. I looked up to see it was Wakka.

"...That fucking stinks, you know." I chuckled between a sob as I said it.

"...But it's for luck."

Wakka and I fought together, for half a year. Brandy was the humorous, arrogant, joker of the group. Wakka was actually just like him; using humor to diffuse situations. Only Wakka pretended to be a clueless idiot, while Brandy pretended to be an arrogant showboat. Wakka was always understanding of people, but got the job done regardless.

It was no surprise to me when I felt warm lips press onto mine, and mine into his.

* * *

"It's working sir. The aliens are taking the bait, falling into the traps we laid for them." The hologram of a turian soldier reported.

"That is good to hear, lieutenant. Keep me posted." I responded. The light of the hologram faded, as I sat in the captain's chair of this ship. A gigantic hologram of the planet showed strategic areas, where I placed the traps, are located.

Saren's anti-guerrilla warfare strategy was working like he said. The transports were luring remaining enemy forces out of hiding, allowing them to be ambushed and destroyed by our superior weaponry. At first I was doubtful that they would fall for it, but it appears I overestimated this primitive race's observational prowess. Patrols have found empty outposts where the enemy soldiers likely came from, leaving at the very minute to prevent us from cornering them.

Only to fall straight into our trap. Speaking of Saren...

I opened a channel with the Captain of _Spirit's Hammer._ A turian, old and grizzled by turian standards, appeared on the hologram, "Hello General. Is there something I could help you with?"

"Nocturis, how is my brother holding up?" I had placed Saren on another ship, knowing that he was smart enough to probably escape, and I didn't want to lose command of my ship and the fleet at the same time.

"Banging on his cell door, demanding we let him go." He put rather bluntly, "As is everyone we imprisoned for questioning orders. What could be wrong with them, general? I've never seen such mutiny on a large scale." He asked, with a worried look on his face.

"This whole operation, from their viewpoint, seems completely unwarranted. They think we're victimizing a species, carrying out a complete genocide on an unsuspecting race."

"Are we?" Nocturis asked.

I gave him a glare "I'm sorry captain, but are you questioning my orders as well?" I said, glaring at him.

Nocturis receded at that, "N-no Sir." He stuttered.

"That's good to hear captain. But anyway, this race is obviously extremely reckless and young, opening a relay without any council permission, putting the wider galaxy in jeopardy of another invasion of a hostile species. This operation is not unwarranted. That, I can assure you and everyone in the fleet. General Desolas, out." I cut the feed between me and the captain, knowing full well that everything I just said was bullshit.

I knew this race didn't know what they were doing, but I invaded anyway. Why? Simple, to get a promotion. You have no idea how hard it is, moving through the turian hierarchy, climbing ranks. Everyone above me is clueless and incompetent, and I know I could do better. I could restore order to the races, quelling Batarian pirate raids, blood pack activity. I even worked out a plan to restore order on Tuchanka. But despite my ranking as Fleet general, I still don't have enough power to carry out all my plans. To do all this, I'd have to have the power of a primarch. Right now, I'm close, but I still need to achieve something noteworthy.

Something like introducing a new client race under the Turian Hierarchy.

I was pulled out my thoughts by one of the bridge Radar specialists, "Sir, the scout ships are returning."

What? The scouts usually report from their location, they don't have to come all the way here to report to us.

Somethings wrong, "Send a fleet-wide command, ordering them to prepare for any battle."

"Yes General."

A screen appeared, showing me the outside of the ship. Turian ships didn't have windows in their bridges, as it would leave the ships superior vulnerable, and instead constructed cockpits separate from the bridge that had windows, and cameras outside to view anything from a screen.

On the screen, there was nothing but an empty vacuum. I could see the planet, ships from my fleet orbiting just above the atmosphere. Then, the Vacuum was immediately filled by a ship. The sharp, black and white turian ship glistened in the light of the star behind the planet. It unnerved me that, for a whole 2 minutes, it just sat there silently.

"Contact them." I finally ordered the communications officer.

A 'yes sir' was received after the command, "This is the _Spirit's Wrath_ on General Desolas' behalf, please respond."

No answer, "This is the _Spirit's Wrath,_ please respond." Still nothing. Why aren't they responding?

The ship then began to turn, revealing the other side of their hull. What I saw, was the most terrifying thing I had ever laid eyes on. The hull was covered in strange metallic vines, large tumor-like objects were embedded into it, and I could see the bodies of turians being held down by tentacles.

"Sir! Another ship is arriving!" A ship exploded into existence next to the other ship, covered in the same cancerous metal. Another blasted into existence, only this one was towing a gigantic sphere, attached by an ordinary cable.

"Command all ships to fire on the Enemy ships, Now!" I ordered. I felt a little rumble, as the ships kinetic cannons opened fire. Beams of blue light shot forth from the fleet, striking the ships. Shields held, but debris could be seen flying from small sections, where the growths were.

My look of triumph was undoubtedly replaced by a look of horror, when I saw that the flying debris wasn't ordinary debris. They were strange, shifting objects, steering towards the fleet.

"Fire weapons at the debris, prevent any from getting through-" I was interrupted when the ship shook, knocking me to my feet as I tried to stand still. I held onto the railing of the galaxy map projector. Alarms rang throughout the bridge, signaling a hull breach.

"Multiple hull breaches!" "Intruders Detected!"

"A boarding?!" I exclaimed, "Pull up Ship surveillance!"

Screens appeared, showing different areas of the ship. In the hangar, security was shooting at a single blur I couldn't make out. No, there was more than one. In the crew's quarters area, a turian was being mauled by a creature. The same shape from the Hangar. I could Crew members engaging the creatures all over the ship.

How could this happen? This race is nowhere near advance enough to pull this off.

I heard banging from the elevator behind me. I pulled out a pistol and took aim, as did everyone in the bridge. I could tell that some were shaking, afraid of what's behind the door. The door was forced open, and a claw poked out.

* * *

"How many?"

"Too many to Count, Sarge." Peterson reported, "A group is unloading supplies from an opening on the ship. Groups, of about 5 or 7, are standing guard around the ship, conversing with each other and eating food. I think I can also make out sniper nests on some of the buildings surrounding the ship."

We had reached the landing site, stopping when we saw the slightest sight of an alien. We moved forward, staying hidden and sparing the lives of the occasional patrol so that their silence doesn't arouse suspicion. That, and I didn't really think we could afford another firefight without the mini gun or the tank. We eventually found the site, in a clearing of buildings, and we were currently hiding inside a building far enough that we couldn't be seen, but close enough that we could get a glimpse of the site. We were currently on our chests, atop the roof of the building we were hiding in. Peterson was currently looking through a pair of binoculars, scouting and spotting any enemies that dotted the perimeter.

I motioned him to crawl back with me to our hiding spot, and so we crawled backwards to the ladder. I grabbed onto the railing, the metal squeaking as I descended down. My foot gently touched the ground, and I released the rail and walked inside the building.

Inside was an ordinary living room, abandoned by its owners. A table, a couch, and a TV was it's contents. The Rookie and Wakka were sitting on the couch, inspecting their guns when I walked in. When they noticed me, they loaded their magazines back into their rifles and pistols, their guns clicking as they tapped the butt end of the magazines.

Peterson followed in behind me, and took a holographic map out. He dropped the map on the coffee table, and it lit up. He used his hands to direct the map to focus in one area, where the alien ship would be.

He pointed in the largest clearing, and a blip appeared, "The ship is right here, as are the aliens unloading it. I spotted groups at each entrance here-" an opening to the clearing of buildings had a red blip placed on it, "-and here." another red blip on the other side of the clearing, "I also spotted one or two sniper nests facing outwards on the buildings over here," red blips on top two buildings lit up, "That's all I was able to make out. I don't if they had anything else, so we should proceed with caution. Sarge, your plan?"

I looked at the map in thought, "Before we can get any closer, we need to take out those snipers."

"Do you think our weapons will penetrate their armor?" The rookie asked.

"Yes. While our armor may not hold up against theirs, our bullets should still pack a punch. Peterson, you'll deal with the snipers. Next is the groups guarding the openings to the clearing. Wakka, use all the grenades we have on them."

"Yes Ma'am."

"And that just leaves the ship. The rookie and I will open fire on the birds unloading it."

"Birds sir?"

"They kinda look like birds, don't they Rookie?"

"I guess so."

"Alright," I took one more look at the map, "We've come this far. We're probably the only ones left to do this, so we're alone in this fight. If you ask me, I wouldn't ask for odds any better than now."

"A speech sir?"

"Can it Peterson." I looked at my comrades, "Alright soldiers, LET'S MOVE OUT!"

We all left the building from the back, Peterson climbed the ladder and laid on his chest on the roof, pulling the bi-pod on his sniper rifle out. Me, the rookie, and Wakka advanced forward in a crouch, moving between buildings that blocked the site from us. A roaring sound interrupted us.

The fuck is that? I looked up as did everyone. FUCK! It was the alien ship; it was leaving. Its engines created a massive humming noise, as the bird shaped ship took off, and disappeared into distance.

...No...NO! You can't fucking leave now! Not fucking NOW! I looked at Peterson. He was no longer on his chest, as he stood on his knees. He looked up with bewildered eyes, surprised at the sudden departure.

Then a blue beam shot through his head.

I turned to see a group of aliens, running around a building and towards, "FUCK! OPEN FIRE!"

I pulled my pistol up and began shooting at them, as did Wakka and the Rookie with their rifles. We all ran backwards into cover, shooting at them at the same time. The horror of the situation of grew worse, as I saw that their bodies were glowing every time we shot them, signifying that they wore Eezo based shielding. Wakka pulled out a grenade and hurled it at them, the explosion sending them flying through the air away from the epicenter.

Any hope that explosion created died when another group appeared from around the corner. Fuck.

* * *

The other Admirals and I had left the war room of the ship, entering the bridge. The bridge was abuzz with activity, crew members seated at blue terminals, speaking into them. A window to the Vacuum of space surrounded us.

"Admirals on Deck!" A crewman shouted. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood straight to give us salutes.

"At Ease." I said. They all returned to their seats, the bridge being filled with noise as they reported from their stations.

"A ship has been spotted entering the solar system." Captain Walker walked towards our group, "It has so far disappeared, engaging their FTL."

"Has the ship been identified." Bolus asked.

"No sir, only that it was extremely big. Too big to be pirates, or one of ours." He reported. Could it be the aliens? How could they have found us so quickly?

"Could they be headed to earth?" An Admiral asked.

"Most likely. We need to prepare the fleet for any incoming attacks. We have to hold them off to the last man." Bolus said. Many admirals agreed, opening up their omnitools to contact their respective fleets, ordering them to encircle the earth, creating a defensive perimeter.

I looked outside the bridge windows, and observed ships leaving the atmosphere. They were forming fleets, each fleet having spaces the size of entire continents between them. The reason for this is because the Alliance doesn't have enough ships to cover the entire planet, only enough to shoot down anything that tries to enter any part of the world. Within an hour, the entire planet had been fortified with fleets in orbit.

Proximity alarms resounded throughout the bridge, "Proximity Alert! ETA 1 minute!"

That fast? I activated my omnitool, opening a channel with the entire Collective Fleet, "Alright men, shoot anything that tries to make it through! Do not let anything on Earth! I repeat, do not let anything on Earth!"

A yellow, star shaped Ship blasted into existence.

Everyone in the bridge gasped. It was massive. It was about the size of a single city. It was so massive, I had no idea how any amount of Element Zero would be able to move it. Smaller, pointed ships buzzed around it.

Then, chaos erupted. All the terminals, our omnitools, and even the interstellar map to my side all began to malfunction, "Sir, they've broken through all our cyber security! We're Defenseless!"

"You've got to be shitting me! A giant ship arrives, and we're completely neutralized by a simple Hack?!" Bolus exclaimed.

"Please, do not be worried." A voice erupted from every audio device, "We do not mean any harm."

A holographic head appeared. It was humanoid in shape, but any features was blocked by static. Its sudden appearance shocked everyone into silence.

I decided to take the first step, "I am Admiral Udina. Identify yourself." I said, as cliched as it sounded in my head.

"I am Sitan, a hyperturing in service of the ArchoSaurian Empire."

Empire? "If you are an empire, then that means you conquer and enslave those you come across." I said, to the horror of everyone present.

"Quite the contrary. Our empire merely colonizes empty areas of space, and those that were inhabited were most likely extremely hostile or oppressive to its denizens." That reassured me a little, " We've received word that your Polity requires our aid."

"Are you not the Aliens that invaded one of our planets?" Bolus snapped from his frightened trance.

"No, in fact your caretaker has already dispatched the invading forces."

"Caretaker? What Caretaker?" I asked.

"All will be revealed soon. But first," A clear hologram appeared, this one of a gigantic structure. It was almost cylindrical, with parts of it separated into five arms. A small ring connected the arms at one end of the structure, "The invaders appear to be apart of an alliance of species, with this structure being their capital. We've received the coordinates of this structure, and we want you to send a ship to engage in peace negotiations."

"Peace Negotiations?! They invaded us without provocation!" Bolus angrily shouted, to the agreement of everyone including me.

"The force that attacked you was just a simple patrol fleet. Their council didn't order such an attack. They are most likely open to a truce."

I weighed the options in my head. I didn't like this one bit. These beings invaded one of our planets, destroyed one of our fleets, and most likely killed hundreds of innocent lives. But if the fleet that attacked us was rogue, then with the force of the...archosaurians? Archosaurians behind us we could demand reparations. An all out war could kill thousands of innocents, and this could be our only chance to prevent anymore misery.

"Absolutely not!" Bolus shouted, getting everyone's attention, "We can't seriously be considering this!"

"I don't know Admiral Bolus. I don't think war is the best option. This our first contact with an alien race, our first true confirmation that we aren't alone in the universe. We should be considering the peace option." I said, to the agreement of some.

"We've already peacefully contacted this alien race." He indicated Sitan, "Why do we need peace with another?"

"Actually, the Archosaurian Empire isn't technically alien to your species." Sitan interrupted.

That drew confused looks from everyone in the room, "What do you mean by that?"

"Once again, all will be revealed during the negotiations with the Citadel."

"Citadel?"

"The English translation of their capital's name. Please, take your time."

Every admiral entered into discussion with each other. Many were aligned at first with war, but eventually they turned to our side when it was pointed out that we'd have to rely on the Empire's assistance. Eventually, the argument changed from whether we needed the empire's protection from the Citadel to-and we whispered while we discussed this- whether we needed the Citadel's protection against the Archosaurian Empire. The empire was, after all, an empire, and such a specific title frightened us.

Eventually, we reached a decision.

* * *

Oh god. Oh god, how could this happen? My back was against the wall, blood seeping from wounds all over my chest. Voices could be heard shouting in a foreign language.

Sarge was dead. Wakka was dead. Peterson was dead. They fought bravely. I though...

...

...We fought them off for a while. Sarge was peppered in beams, Wakka running to her aid, only to get shot in the back. I was shot too, so I hid around a building. I could hear the aliens coming for me, but an explosion rang out. Wakka's grenades, his final act.

I'm such a fucking coward.

I hated her fucking guts, but now...All I could hate was myself for leaving them. I wasn't strong enough, wasn't willing. I was weak. The wounds weren't on any vital spots, but I was crippled and bleeding out fast.

The Voices were getting closer. I used all the strength I had left to pull up my pistol. I didn't feel much pain anymore. Only a numbness and a lightheaded feeling. My vision was blurring.

I fell into unconsciousness, when I heard the sound of bodies dropping to the ground.

* * *

I awoke, to metal arms pouring some kind of liquid into me. I couldn't keep conscious enough to panic though. I heard a monotonous voice.

"Wounds filled. Blood transfusing. Patient is regaining consciousness. Checking database...Designation: Private Hannah Shepard. Age: 23. Spouse: Ben Shepard (Deceased). Offspring: John and Jane Shepard."

* * *

CODEX ENTRY

Admiral Ziles Udina: an Alliance Admiral of the Fifth fleet, Udina is highly respected throughout the Alliance Navy. Known for his strategic and diplomatic prowess, Udina has received many honors for coming up with new strategies on dealing space pirates, including the infamous 'Udina Pincer Move'. His son, Donnel Udina, is more interested in politics than the Navy.

Archosaurian Empire: A small sepherotic empire, the Archosaurian Empire came to the aid of The Systems Alliance when they were contacted by their Caretaker God. The Empire has instilled worry among the races, due to its status as an empire.

Throne Ship: The Archosaurian Empire's massive warships, these ships are a 29 Km wide yellow star. They can carry antimatter weaponry and can even carry whole fleets within its hangars.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Just realized that the program I type this in messes with my writing. If you notice any errors, send a complaint my way and I'll fix it immediately.**


	4. A Field of Sunflowers

"I sincerely hope you have a valid explanation for this, Sparatus." Tevos said, frustration prevalent in her voice and face.

The Councilors were currently seated, on an occasion that required hours of discussion.

Sparatus regarded Tevos with anger in his voice, "I don't take kindly to your tone, Tevos."

"You don't take kindly to MY tone?" Tevos said in disbelief, placing a hand on her chest,"I don't kindly to your race's severe xenophobia!" She swung an invisible sword in her hand.

"How Dare You!" Sparatus Stood from his seat, "You know as well as I do that the rest of the council races owe everything to the Turians! We were the ones that fought back the krogan when they began dropping asteroids on all our planets!"

"You didn't fought them back." Valera crossed her arms, "You poured a sterility plague onto their planet with OUR shroud! Even now the entirety of civilized space view them as victims worthy of their sympathy! As a result, we have to deal insurgencies popping up everywhere because they see us as oppressive tyrants!"

"That may be true..." Sparatus' anger wavered, "...But we were only doing our duty. And you can't blame us for the general who led the attack. It was obviously a political scheme, a general gunning for position as a Primarch."

"He was still sanctioned under the Hierarchy." Tevos added, reigniting his anger.

"Only because we thought they were dealing with pirates! Not a new and oblivious race! Look, Desolas will be returned to the Hierarchy and disciplined appropriately-"

"You mean given a medal?" Tevos spat out, "We're all perfectly aware that Turian military law states that a high ranking official can only be disciplined if they lost a battle, or attacked Turian allies." She began to count off her fingers, "Since a) They didn't lose a battle, but are being called off from one, and b) This race is uncontacted and therefore not aligned with any citadel species, then the Turian hierarchy is not obligated to discipline anyone, except, of course, soldiers that have spoken out against Desolas and were therefore considered insubordinate."

Sparatus stuck his hands out as he shrugged, "If Desolas will not punished, then he will not be punished. The rules of the Hierarchy exist for a reason."

"And that reason is to prevent any instability among its ranks. Except this situation might cause instability for everyone. Vasir, If you'd explain." Tevos motioned for an Asari to step forward. She wore blue and white armor, and had purple facial marks on her face. It was obvious to the Councilors who this was, as they oversaw her initiation.

"A Spectre?" Sparatus said with confusion as to why she's here.

"Yes councilor." Vasir's omnitool lit up with a yellow glow, "After receiving word from the Hierarchy of their attack on a reportedly primitive species, I was tasked by Tevos to keep track on any progress of the invasion. Including the progress that wasn't yet reported from the fleet." She spoke with a voice that was monotonous.

Sparatus perked up at that last part, "What? How?"

"STG operatives were stationed on some of the Fleet's ships. Mostly as doctors or medics." Valera added.

"Ah yes." Sparatus said, everything clear to him, "I forgot about the Salarian's little spy network." He finished with clear contempt.

"The Network is vital in dealing with any unrest among every race's military. They are, after all, armies, and should we lose any control over them, we'd all end up as militarized as the Turians." Sparatus clearly disapproved of Tevos' wording, but didn't continue the issue.

"Anyway, the Fleet has been completely destroyed." Vasir said, as if it was the most ordinary thing to say.

Everyone's eyes shifted immediately to Vasir, shocked surprised and floored jaws evident on their faces.

Tevos was especially shaking her head from the confusion, "Wait. What?! That's not what you said before!"

"Well the situation has changed; I just received this video from an STG agent, right before his ship was destroyed." Vasir interacted with her Omnitool, a holo-vid appearing for everyone in the room to see.

On the video, a Turian Cruiser was shown. From the angle and the metal surface underneath, it was evident that this vid was taken from a camera attached to the of a ship. The Turian ship turned, revealing a tumor-like metallic growth on its hull. The ship was struck by a projectile launched by a kinetic weapon. The ship exploded, spewing forth liquid metal, like a balloon full of silver paint being popped. The silver droplets splattered on the hull of the ship the camera was, and the silver liquid began to grow. The vid was cut out, just as it was observed that the silver liquid was dissolving the hull.

"By the Spirits..." Sparatus looked like a deer caught in the lights.

"What was that?" Tevos exclaimed. She noticed that Valera was more shocked than the rest, "What is it Valera?"

"That technology...That's programmable matter!" She pointed a finger at the frozen picture before her. She looked between her colleagues, "Programmable matter is wildly accepted as fringe science among the salarian science community; Issues in surface tension on the nano-scale, heating issues, and a matter of feasibly powering the material. To see a race actually attain this level of technological sophistication..." Valera was mesmerized at the fact.

Tevos angrily turned to Sparatus, "How could your people attack a race this advanced?!"

Sparatus stuttered, "B-b-but that can't be true. The patrol fleet reported a primitive species that was easily dispatched! They never encountered this!"

Tevos calmed down, and looked up at the picture, "Could it have been a trump card? A last resort weapon?"

"Possibly." Valera drew herself out of her trance, "The very few theories on programmable matter is that it could be weaponized by being ordered to replicate uncontrollably. A single drop of it could consume an entire planet."

Tevos nodded at that, "Then it would make sense for it to be a last resort. If they ever lost control of it..." Tevos was visibly terrified of the thought.

Sparatus attempted to take advantage of her fear, "You see! This proves that my people's actions were justified. Such a race would be a threat to the entire galaxy!"

"Which is why you shouldn't have attacked them, without any real evidence of their actions." Tevos firmly said, using the excuse the council likes to use.

Sparatus was having none of it, "Don't you use that excuse on me-"

"We could've engaged in peaceful contact with this species." Tevos interrupted, "Instead, you had to justify an all out war. It would be a miracle if they even considered a ceasefire..." Tevos rubbed her forehead in frustration.

"Why would a species as young as them need to be the ones considering a ceasefire?" Sparatus asked.

"Because we may not be able to handle-" Valera's musings was interrupted by the council chamber's main holograph projector.

An Asari appeared as a giant, holographic head, "Councilors, a fleet of ships has just entered the system, and have appeared near the citadel."

"Show it to us." Tevos ordered.

The hologram changed to a screen. On the screen, a small fleet of ships was floating in space just outside of the Citadel's arms. A couple of the ships looked Turian, sharp and sword-like, only without the avian-like wings most Turian ships possessed. One ship stood out from them, though. The ship was shaped like a star, yellow, and had a black dot in the middle. Smaller ships were being launched from it.

What made it stood out the most was that, compared to the other ships, this one was utterly massive.

"Operator," Tevos referred to the Citadel defense systems operator, "How big is that ship?"

"One moment Councilor." The Operator's voice replied. After a minute, the Operator's stunned voice answered," I-Its over 29 kilometers wide!"

"By the Goddess!" Tevos covered her mouth in a gasp, "That ship is almost as big as the citadel's width!" She looked Sparatus with a look that said 'You better not have fucked us', "Sparatus, you better hope they mean peac-" She was interrupted when the hologram started to distort.

The screen was warped, changing and shifting. It spun, like a swarm of fish in the ocean, trying to form the shape that it was looking for. Eventually, it coalesced in a...Drell like head. Asari-like, but without any crops. Glowing blue eyes sprung to life on the head, blinking. It stared at us...

"...Hello."

* * *

The Citadel was absolutely stunning up close.

Its five silver arms stood out in one direction, like an angel pointing me the way with its wings. On the arms, I could make out lights dotting it, like a city. _It is a City_ , I thought. As we got closer, I could make out skyscrapers, sharp on some edges, smooth on others. On one end of the huge construct, the arms were connected to a single ring. According to Sitan, the Council chambers were located on a Tower sticking inwards on the ring.

The Admirals and their respective governments agreed for a parlay with the Citadel. Mostly out of fear towards the Archosaurians. I was selected to go on the journey, also making a quick stop at Shanxi.

The reports were accurate, as was Sitan's words. The fleet was destroyed, both the orbital defense fleet...and the invasion fleet. It was amazing. The empire had swiftly and precisely stomped on the enemy fleet, like...bugs. At least, I assumed it was the empire that had done it. Until Sitan assured me that it wasn't them, and that they would reveal who did it during the parley...Something that is starting to annoy me.

I was shaken from my thoughts by a deep, sandpaper shaving voice, "Admiral Udina?"

I looked away from the window of the ship halls, to see a..."Ambassador Toval?"

"I am."

Sitan said an ambassador from the empire would board our ship, an Ambassador Toval. And Toval, well...

He was a lizard. A green lizard. He stood on his two bird-like hind legs, somehow keeping perfect human-like balance. He had arms that resembled that of a man's, a tail sticking out from his rear end, a long crocodile-like jaw, and...are those wings?

Well, he looked like it, so I decided to ask,"Please don't take this the wrong way, but...are you a dragon?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"But...How?" I waved my arms forward, unconsciously indicating towards his wings.

"It will be explained-"

"During the negotiations," I said, eyes half lidded, "like Sitan keeps saying."

On our way to the citadel, I had taken the time to get to know Sitan. Most of everything I asked was answered with 'at the parley', but the questions in which he didn't say that, cleared up everything I needed to know about him and only him specifically.

He explained that he was an Artificial Intelligence, one that was apparently really, really smart.

And how, you wonder, that made me feel? Well..."Are you sure we can trust Sitan?"

Toval, who was now standing beside me, also gazing at the sight out the window, craned his neck towards me, "What do you mean?"

"It's just that...There are predictions among my people that if we were to create anything that surpasses us, they would rise up and destroy us." Yeah, I saw that old movie my Grandpa showed me...Exterminator, was it?

"Ah. A common conception, if not a valid one, about vec rebellions."

One eyebrow moved up an inch,"Vec...?"

"Vecs are what we refer the synthetic citizens of the terragen sphere as."

"What is this Terragen sphere?" I said, immediately having a massive revelation about the answer.

"That will be explained-"

"At the negotiations," I said, my greatest dreams come true, "I know. That is, if the negotiations even happen."

"Trust Satin. He has more than mastered the art of social influence and persuasion."

An AI mastering Social Influence and Persuasion. What could go wrong...?

I let out a frustrated sigh, "Very well." I regarded him, wondering... "So, tell me about yourself ambassador Toval."

"Well, as you know I am a dragon. I was born on Pheros, a planet that had been colonized by The Empire." Its a start.

"What was Pheros like?" Take the bait, you scaly bastard...

"It was very much like Earth. Green, covered in oceans, a blue sky covered in white clouds, but with two moons instead of one. I lived on a city built along the mountains, for the view I receive when I flew." Ha! He's getting lost in the nostalgia.

I glanced at his wings, which I originally assumed were vestigial, "You mean those wings work?"

"Of course, with a little technological intervention." That didn't sound wrong to me, not wrong at all. As I was picturing horrific cybernetic implants, I noticed that Toval's eyes had begun to dip into memory, "Ever since I learned flying as a young-ling, I loved to fly. Feeling the wind flow around my chomper, my wings twisting the air like a hurricane, and watching the mountains and the trees run past beneath me. Of course, I wasn't alone. There were other dragons who could fly, and even a humanoid such as yourself could receive your own wings for flying."

"That sounds amazing. If things turn out well between us, I would love to visit your planet. Try out flying with wings myself." Yeah, riiiight, "That is, of course, I don't wet my cold, screaming corpse while crashing into a mountain." That last part wasn't exactly a joke.

He chuckles, his voice a deep roar that was like a...well, a dragon,"Well, that's enough about me. Why don't you tell me about yourself."

I placed the back of my elbows on the railing, facing him, "When I first joined the Alliance Navy, my mother was sick. As a Navy officer herself, she became involved in an accident. A freighter carrying a shipment of the element zero had a breach in its hull, and so unrefined toxic Eezo was spilled on the colony she was stationed at." My voice became quieter, as I too started to drown in memory, "She was put on sick leave for radiation poisoning. She died a year after I joined the Navy."

His next reaction completely took me by surprise. It wasn't that he was indifferent towards her death; he was that he was completely shaken by it. I could see him holding back a gasp, "I'm...sorry to hear that." It was like...he had never experienced the death of anyone. Like he was new to death.

I decided it was best not to bring it up, "Thank you, Ambassador. After her death, I started to work harder. Volunteering for any mission, taking point in fighter squadrons when the need arose. Eventually I was promoted to captain, and then Admiral." I was now back to looking at the citadel.

Toval had apparently shaken from his stun, "I hear you also have a son."

I thought on this, "Donnel? Yes. He's almost 20, but unlike the rest of the family he's more interested in politics." Yeah, like I needed that. A politician for a son, "Can you imagine that? My son, a politician. I just hope he doesn't become like those snobs." I said, remembering a particular snob who was always on my ass and kept asking for 'my evidence'.

"Well, guess you'll to have wait and find out." He said, drawing my attention to the whirling of light behind us, "In the meantime, we have our own game of politics to play."

Sitan's iconic blank static face appeared.

"Ah, Sitan." Toval said.

"Toval." Satin regarded the both of us with those glowing eyes of his, "Glad to see that you are making a good friend out of the Admiral here."

"The Admiral was just talking about all those times he wetted himself while flying in a fighter." What?!

"I didn't say that!" I said, feeling utterly betrayed.

"Well, I suppose it makes sense. You do seem to have a baby's face. Anyway, the council have agreed to parlay. We'll meet at the tower located at the ring of the Citadel." Sitan said, ignoring the truth.

"Will I be able to understand their language?" It was then that I realized, "Wait. How do I even understand you?"

"Your language already existed long before we met. I was able to learn it instantly, and Toval uses a Direct Neural Interface that lets him speak all languages fluently. As for the Citadel, you will also utilize a DNI implant to communicate in their language."

My question for the first part was snuffed out by that last part, "Does that mean surgery?"

"No. In fact, you already received the DNI through nanites in air."

Alarms rang through every cell in my body, "What?!"

Sitan tried to calm me, "It's alright Udina-"

"No, it's not alright! You implanted me without my permission!" I looked towards Toval, feeling really betrayed now. And violated, "How could you?!"

"Udina, we can remove the implants immediately if you would like it." Toval raised his hands in a calming gesture. Calming, were it not for the claws...

I gritted my teeth in rage, and hissed out,"...Get. Rid. Of it."

Sitan went quiet, looking to the side. I coughed a little, "...Done."

I looked into my hands, realizing I had just coughed it out. But I wasn't forgetting... "What about the machines in the air? Are you going to get rid of them!?"

"No. They are part of the angelnet, a network of nanomachines that protect us from harm." Sitan assured me, to no avail.

I let out a heavy sigh, calming down, "I will have to report this to the other admirals. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go make a stop at Med-bay." I don't trust the words of these two.

As I took the first five steps away from them, Toval called to me, "They are gone, Udina. Trust us."

"We'll see about that."

* * *

Udina angrily walked down the ships hall, vanishing around the corner.

Toval turned To Sitan, "Sitan, What happened back there? I thought your memetics would prevent any hostile feelings?"

"It would have. Were it not for the presence of other memetic engineering." Sitan replied, immediately getting Toval's full attention.

"There's another memetic presence? Is it the Caretaker?" Toval hoped it was.

Those hopes were smashed completely, "No. In fact, the Caretaker called us because it also had it's memetics subverted."

"A third presence then?"

"maybe."

Toval had worry written all over his face. He looked out the window to distract himself. The tower was in view, close enough for this small ship to dock with it. A bridge mechanically extended out of the tower, connecting to an airlock on the other side of the ship.

"until then," Sitan continued as he could feel he was being called to the airlock, "we'll have to attempt to reason with them instead of memetically influence them."

* * *

"Is that an Asari?"Sparatus indicated the pink-skinned, fur topped, Asari-like creature.

The Alien, Sitan, had convinced the Council to engage in Parley with the people the Turian fleet had attacked. Docking was arranged with one of their smaller ships, and now a holographic screen was showing the Aliens stepping off the ship.

It was to the Council's surprise that an extremely Asari-like creature stepped out.

Vasir uncrossed her arms, "That's the species that the patrol fleet attacked. Their resemblance to us was a big surprise for everyone as well."

"But their not alone." Tevos noticed a second, different creature had stepped out, "Another species is there. An alliance perhaps?"

"This could explain the technological difference," Valera began, "This race is most likely the more advanced one, having come to the other one's aid."

The two were flanked by guards of the Asari-like species, and had walked through the halls leading to the elevator. The halls were, for the most part, empty, save a few C-sec guards...and Spectres in hiding. The Alien representatives entered the elevator, leaving behind a couple of their guards, taking one of their own and a C-sec guard.

Sparatus looked to Vasir, who was off the side on the Council stage,"What's the progress on that hacking investigation?"

The Council had ordered an immediate investigation of the Alien's hack, "Empty. We have no idea how they hacked our communications system. There's not even a trace of our firewall being breached."

"It might not have been a software attack, but a hardware attack." Valera added.

Tevos looked to Valera, "What do you mean?"

"If they have nanotech more advanced than ours, they could've infested our computers with tiny machines, interfacing with the circuitry itself." The thought terrified Valera, as that could mean they could hack anything the Citadel had.

Tevos heard the elevator go to stop on the screen, "Then we should ask them ourselves."

The being's footsteps could be heard outside the main Council's chambers, in the hallway connecting the elevator. The green and pink aliens appeared at the entrance, walking towards the Council's stand for the younger races. They came to a stop, just on the tip of the stand.

The green winged creature spoke out, the council understanding him, "Greetings. I am ambassador Toval, of the Archosaurian Empire." He indicated the Asari-like creature, "This is admiral Udina, representing the Human's Systems Alliance." The familiar hologram of the alien Satin reappeared, "Before we begin, Satin will translate between you and Udina, as he does not want a translator implant."

"Of course. I am councilor Tevos, of The Asari Republics. My colleagues are respectively Valera, of the Salarian Union, and Sparatus, of the Turian Hierarchy," Udina recognized Sparatus to be one of the Aliens that attacked Shanxi, but something else was on his mind, preventing him from bringing it up.

"First off; Where is Satin? I thought we would be meeting in person," Tevos asked.

"Satin currently has no body to interact with us." Toval answered.

Valera realized something, "Is Satin a Virtual Intelligence?" she asked, fearing the worst.

"If by a virtual intelligence, do you mean a non-sapient program?"

"Yes, I do," Valera almost hesitated.

"Then no. Satin is a sapient artificial intelligence that has surpassed organics in capabilities. He is referred to as a Hyperturing." To the Councilors, it was like a bomb had just been placed in front of them.

"What?!" Sparatus shouted, for once receiving agreement from the other Councilors.

Tevos especially, "I am sorry, but we are going to have to ask you to permanently terminate any and all artificial intelligence, as they are outlawed in civilized space."

"I am afraid I cannot do that, as that would be genocide," Toval firmly made this clear.

"But they're machines! It won't be murder if they aren't alive!" Sparatus shouted.

"First of all," Toval said, clearly annoyed with the anti-synth prejudice, "All beings similar to Satin are recognized as citizens of the empire, and are as such respected as persons. Secondly, what makes you think we are under any obligation to meet your demands?"

Tevos wasn't yelling Sparatus, but talked like him,"It is necessary for you to do this in order for your species to join the galactic council."

"I have never made any indication that we would join your council."

"My people, however, would like to join," Udina spoke through Satin.

This drew bulged eyes from everyone, including Toval.

"Wouldn't that strain your alliance with the...empire?" Tevos immediately realized what that title meant.

Toval recovered from his ex-friend's decision, "We wouldn't mind it, seeing as how we simply came to your aid during the council's attack of their colony," Toval said, emphasizing 'our aid' and 'Council's attack'.

"Speaking of," Udina looked at Toval, "I think its time that I and the rest of humanity is owed an explanation."

Tevos assumed he had meant the attack on Shanxi, "Very well. The fleet that attacked you-"

"I wasn't talking to you." Udina abruptly cut her off, "Toval, you and Satin kept implying that your people have a unique relationship with ours. You said that you would explain when we started the negotiations. Well, we've started the negotiations," Udina waved his arms to indicate the situation.

Toval let out a sigh, expecting this situation to deteriorate even more, "Of course." He looked to Sitan. His hologram head dispersed, flowing into tiny little dots. The Dots flowed into the space between the representatives, creating a sphere of, what everyone realized, were stars, "The Archosaurian Empire is only one out of a trillion civilizations among the Terragen Sphere, a sphere of influence originating from...Earth."

Valera didn't recognize the name, "Earth?"

Udina did, "That's...That's our homeworld!"

"No. It is not. Your world is located on the outer rims of sphere." A dot was highlighted in orange on the outer end of the Sphere, "Earth is located in the epicenter of the Terragen Sphere," Another blue dot lit up orange, in the middle of the sphere.

What Toval said was a complete contradiction to Udina, "I don't understand."

Toval looked to Udina, sympathy in his eyes, "Your entire system is a complete replica of the original solar system. Including your civilization."

Udina eyes bulged, like he had just heard his mother died, "But...how?"

"We do not know. Details of how we came across you will be related later on." Toval looked back to the council, "For now, we are still negotiating peace."

Udina's shocked face was pushed aside by Tevos' indifferent question,"But wait. How big is the Terragen Sphere?"

"200 lightyears in diameter," Satin answered.

Such a size was unheard of in Citadel space, "That's incredible! How didn't we contact each other until now?" Valera exclaimed.

"This may take a while." Satin said.

* * *

Half an hour later, the councilors were told of the background of the Terragen Sphere.

They were roughly billions of sapient species in it. The council was surprised at how so many species could evolve in such a small corner of the Galaxy. Sitan, however, explained that only one or four of the species with the Terragen Sphere are truly alien. The rest are, in fact, all descended from the creations and members of the Human race, Udina's race and the original race that inhabited Earth. Terragens range in Human descendants, called baselines. Modified Human descendants, called Nearbaselines. Artificially created organisms, which were either animals given sapience, animals mixed with other animals, animals mixed with humans, and animals that were created completely from scratch.

There were also numerous synthetic species; such as Vecs, which were sapient robots recognized as citizen. Aiods, which were disembodied AI, which were also recognized as citizens. A-lifes, which were artificially evolved synthetics. And finally, Virtuals, which were originally organics that had uploaded their consciousness to cyberspace.

While the use of synthetics as citizens surprised the council, the sheer diversity of the Terragen Sphere completely eclipsed that.

It also proved to worry the councilors, "I'll have to say...most of this... disturbs us." Tevos hesitated, not knowing how to react.

"Disturbing?" Sparatus was at a loss, "Ten thousand years of horrific experimentation and living under tyrannical machines?!"

Toval tilted his head in confusion, "Experimentation?"

Valera, being a member of a Scientifically Ethical race, explained, "To accomplish what you have done to create all the Terragens, countless experiments and failures would've had to have been carried out."

"Not with us." Satin firmly assured, "My kind could easily predict the outcome of every modification and thus there was no need to experiment. Changing DNA was as easy as writing a book for us."

"But still, you've interfered in the evolution of nearly every life form from your Sphere!" Tevos felt like the Genophage wasn't as bad as this.

"And you've created countless threats for us to deal with!" Sparatus was deeply reminded of the Krogan, a race that was uplifted by the Council.

Toval was clearly not amuse, "That is hypocritical of you to say."

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Thanks to Satin, we are well aware of your council's history." Toval indicated the AI, "First, Tevos, your council has left one race on the brink of extinction for centuries, even going so far as to renew the virus after every time they start to adapt to it."

"How could you know that?!" Valera exclaimed.

Toval crossed his arms, looking at Satin, "Satin told me." He looked to Sparatus, "Second, Sparatus, the council only deals with threats towards the core civilizations, the turians, asari, and salarians. Everyone else is left to the mercy of Batarian pirates, who torture and enslave anyone that they capture."

Tevos placed her hands together in a triangle, pointing at Toval with it, "The problem of the pirates is far more complex-"

"You mean political?" He cut her off, "We are also aware of the Hegemony's relation to the pirates."

"Then you know that any action we take could lead to full scale war!" Valera shouted, once again having to deal anti-pirate idealism.

"That is unacceptable. You've fought two massive threats, both bigger and smarter than the Hegemony. The Hegemony is just not seen as a threat to you specifically. Entering your council has no benefit for us, seeing as how you doom all of your allies the moment they disagree with you."

"The Krogan were warlike and the Quarians broke council law!" Those words surprisingly didn't come from Sparatus, but Tevos.

Udina was freed form his stupor when he overheard the argument,"And my people still wish to join the Citadel."

Toval, this time, was more bothered by Udina's decision,"Why? They attacked your people. What reason could you..."

He stopped short of himself, looking to Satin. They quietly looked at each other, like they were having a conversation without speaking.

"Ah. I see." He exited his psychic conversation with Satin, "Very well then, do as you wish."

"Then it is agreed, the Systems Alliance will join the Council," Tevos said, trying to keep the matter the Terragen Sphere away for now.

"That is correct." Udina confirmed.

Tevos still worried on what the empire would do, "And what of your people?"

"We still seek a friendly partnership with all of you," Toval reassured her fears of conflict.

"Then shall we discuss trade and policy?" Valera said, ignoring the complete and utter disregard for ethics the Terragens held.

Toval between everyone, feeling like it wasn't going to be so easy as he thought it would be.

Finally, he spoke,"Of course."

* * *

A house was sitting on the edge of a field. A field of sunflowers. The house was wooden, in contrast with the metal city behind it. A loud hum sounded, as a vehicle approached. The vehicle wasn't on the ground, though. The vehicle was flying, in the air. It landed far from in front of the house' front door.

The door of house opened, revealing a women. Two children, a boy and a girl, were behind her. The women had taken care of her niece and nephew while her mother was gone.

The door of the shuttle hissed, sliding to side. Tears started forming on the girl and boys cheeks. They sprang into a sprint towards the Shuttle. A woman in uniform stepped out, holding her arms, and taking the children in a big hug. And for a while, Hannah Shepard held onto them. Tears were forming in her eyes as well.

As the children cried, happy that their mother had returned, her mother held thoughts that tormented her. Thoughts that told her she was weak. That her children were weak because of her, and would feel unimaginable suffering in their lives from now on. She vowed to never let that happen, to teach her children never to be weak, or to give in to fear. She vowed, because those thoughts...

...

...They were like a million.

* * *

CODEX ENTRY

Terragen: Any being that can trace its origin back to the Terragen sphere's old Earth. Terragens are incredibly diverse. They branch into millions of different species, with families of them being called clades. The Terragen Spectrum is divided into categories: Biont, biological and organic beings. Vec, mechanical beings. AIs and Virtuals, respectively artificial and uploaded disembodied minds. And cyborgs, a mix of mechanical and biological parts.

Old Earth: The original... Earth. Our Earth was...(the narrator hesitates)...a copy of this Earth. The Archosaurians believed that we were the result of a demiurge, a Transapient that rules over isolated worlds that it colonized with life. The original Earth is currently under the control of GAIA, one of the first transapients and the one responsible for kicking civilization off of Earth. Earth currently lives in Anarchy, as GAIA protects the wild-life from the influence civilization.

* * *

 **A/N: Just tried out a new method for writing. May have caused a few errors and fixed most of them. Also found a new method for Character Development in later chapters. Hope it works.**


	5. Storms A'Brewing

Ziles Udina's decision for the Systems Alliance to join the Council would not have been in his power, were it not for his report on the incident involving Sitan, and a medical examination of his lungs. The admirals in turn quickly reported that incident to the Systems Alliance' council, and got permission for Udina to begin talks of joining the Citadel. It was during the talks that Udina discussed the terms should the system alliance join the Citadel. The Systems Alliance joining was given permission and officiated when Udina sent a message to the Alliance council. However, the Alliance's new ally, The Archosaurian Empire, refused to join the Citadel, seeing as how they had nothing to be offered from it.

While they did refuse joining the Citadel, the Empire still offered to trade. At first, the council wanted to trade technology for technology, but the Empire representatives explained that they had already far surpassed the Citadel species. They even went as to claim they surpassed the protheans. The Empire representative, ambassador Toval, then proposed that, instead of the council trading tech the empire doesn't need, that they should instead Trade territory for the advanced technology. The council agreed to the trade terms. It was decided that the Empire would be allowed to claim several uninhabited star systems, located in the Terminus system. In return, the Empire agreed to provide nano-fabrication tech to the Citadel, and provided them the specs for building advanced constructs. Whatever these blueprints were actually for, has so far not been made public by the council.

The relationship between the Empire and the Systems Alliance was strained, to say the least. Empire citizens were utterly shocked of the Alliance's decision to join the people that had attacked one of their planets. But none of that compared to the fallout of the humans learning that their planet was a replica. Sitan, the AI representative of the empire, had provided a encyclopedia of information to the leadership of the Alliance, including Udina. The Alliance council would have been the only ones who experienced their jaws falling off their faces, were it not for a hacker who had released the emails to the public. Rioting and protests, which were already in the process after humanity's inclusion into the Citadel's alliance, increased in violence and duration after the leak. The Alliance and The Empire still maintained healthy relations, but the alliance still had reservations about the empire.

As for the relationship between the Citadel Alliance and the Empire, things were...cold. The entire Terragen Sphere, however, was a different matter entirely. The council was increasingly concerned about the complete and utter disregard they held for the sanctity of a species development.

What really made things worse, was that no one knew a whole lot about the Terragen Sphere. So far, it was confirmed there was only one entrance; The Terra Relay. Due to an incident that happened several years after first contact, the relay was nicknamed the Terror gate. Things took a hot turn to the worse for the Alliance and the Citadel when the empire even blocked and refused anyone from the wider galaxy to venture through the relay, setting up advance defenses around the relay. Not that they needed to, seeing as how the terror gate has become much of a Bermuda triangle to the wider galaxy. Even the krogan are too afraid to venture through the hellish gate.

Several years later, in an effort to improve relations between each other, the Turian Hierarchy and the Systems Alliance, who reluctantly worked along with an Archosaurian AI, helped construct a scouting frigate with advanced stealth capabilities. A frigate, that would be named the Normandy...

* * *

 **A Few Decades After First Contact...**

Several beings stood at a corridor, rifles raised and pointed in one direction. The beings were all four-eyed, had four vertically placed nostrils, and had heavily ridged faces. Their skin tones varied, including colors of brownish-yellow, reddish-black, and reddish brown. The armor they wore was brownish-red, covered their entire bodies save faces, and was thin enough to allow for mobility.

These were the generic appearances of Batarian Pirates.

They stood, sweat almost visible and weapons pointed still and unmoving other than the occasional nervous shake, watching the single, empty end of the corridor. None of them dared to make a sound, less someone should pinpoint there position. Some were out in the open, close to the walls. Others were taking cover around corners of the corridor intersection.

Then, something flew from the empty corridor.

"Shit!" A Batarian yelled as he ran to the corners, his comrades too slow to realize. A burst of energy sent them and their separated appendages flying backwards, falling to the ground. When the burst of the Explosion cleared up, they all stuck their weapons out of their corners, and opened fire.

Blue explosions erupted from the barrel of their rifles, automatic and semi-automatic fire erupted at the now occupied corridor. Kinetic propelled bullets struck the combatants shields, penetrating some. Wounded Batarians and Enemies cried out in pain, clutching bloody holes in their bodies before filling it with medi-gel, the red slimy fluid clogging the wound, and somehow pumping the slugs out of their bodies.

After awhile, the Batarians resorted to falling back, using the cover of a multi-grenade explosion to cover their retreat.

* * *

A human woman shrieked as a Batarian swung the butt of his rifle into her face. She cried in pain as the Guard continued to beat her, "Shut up!" He continued slamming his gun into her, trying to get past her flailing arms to hit her in the face.

Other humans, tied in holographic omnitool handcuffs, lay huddled away, watching the horrifying scene unfold. Many had dry spots where there were tears on their faces, and couples huddled especially close together while watching the scene, and children hid their faces in the chests of the more older prisoners. A group of armed Batarians stood guard near the entrance of the room, waiting for the boarders to come through.

"All this trouble for just a bunch of pansy ass humans." One of the Guards looked at the crying mess of humans behind him.

"Things have been getting harder, especially with that new ship of theirs." One of the smarter guards postulated.

"Whatever." A more stupid guard made a dismissive shake with his head, "That ship may be good, but everyone on it should be easy pickings. Think they can just waltz right in and do whatever they feel like. They got another surprise coming." He tapped the barrel of his rifle.

"If you think it's going to be easy, that surprise would be for you." The smarter one shot at him, "They've been getting more brutal since the Blitz."

"The blitz wasn't even-" Stupid was interrupted when thunder rang out.

Holes across the door and the surrounding wall sprung out, as well as red gushing holes from the guards. The prisoners, who were already on the floor, ducked. The batarian that was in the middle of beating the one woman fell on top of her, blood dripping onto her.

After a while, the rain of bullets stopped.

* * *

A holographic screen, suspended mid-air, showed multiple settings divided by orange lines. Firefights in the corridors, a mess hall that was filled with bodies, and the prisoner chambers being cleared of its guards.

The crew aboard the bridge watched the screen. Widened Four eyes shifted over the scenes presented, as if watching a fly that was on fire whizzing over a barrel of TNT. They were all armored, one being especially better shielded than the rest: The Captain.

The Captain, who was standing, turned his head to his first mate, "Secure the entrances to the bridge. Forget the merchandise."

"What!?" One of his more greedy crew members overheard, "No! We need the cred from the auctions!"

"Screw all that shit." One of his more cautious men voiced, "We gotta get out of here!"

"The merch has been lost already," The captain turned them, giving them a glare, "this ship is more valuable." He gave the cowardly one an especially piercing glare, "And I'm not getting kicked off my ship by bitchy, asari lookalikes!"

"We need the merch!" Some men began to rally around him.

The other gained a following too, "We need to leave!"

"Fuck you!" The greedy one shifted for his holster.

The angry crew member pulled a pistol from his holster, as did everyone in the room, at everyone of each side. The Captain himself pulled an automatic, one he kept with him in case of a mutiny like this, and pointed it at everyone. The Captain, who used greed to control his crew, did not know how to handle the situation verbally. Many knew that they shouldn't be doing this now, that they had more urgent matters at hand. Unfortunately, their instincts as pirates told them that _this_ was the urgent matter.

The Urgent matter was interrupted, when the door to the bridge exploded. Smoke filled the room, dazing everyone. Many tried to raise their guns, but were stopped when they became peppered with bullets. The captain's shocked face seized as his shield was disabled with an overload. His body was then riddled in red bullet holes.

By the time most of the armed crew was taken care of, helmeted soldiers poured in from the entrance, pointing their guns in all directions. The soldiers were humanoid, and wore an assortment of standard Alliance armor, with some being N7.

Some of the Pirates had dropped their weapons, holding their hands up in surrender. One soldier, in the middle of the unit, stood out in a commanding stance. The soldier observed the surrendering pirates, soldiers having not secured them with handcuffs yet.

"Drop them." A commanding female voice resonated through the comms of her suit. The batarians panicked, and tried to plead before being gunned down by the soldiers. Some tried to run for hiding spots, but some soldiers grabbed them, dragging them out and shooting them in their screaming heads.

The soldiers had no objections for the order, except one who was aiming his weapon at a particularly unarmed Pirate.

The leader took notice, "I said drop them!"

The soldier looked back, "But they're un-"

"Don't make me shoot you!" Her rifle almost looked as though it was about to aim for him.

The frightened batarian was on the brink of tears, when he placed his fingers his omnitool quickly. His armor began to beep...

"Fuck!" The leader quickly brought a biotic barrier, increasing her shield. The hesitating soldier ran, having thrown up his own barrier. The explosion rang out, the rest of the human soldier's shields cushioning most of the force before breaking under it.

* * *

 **Several Hours later...**

The shuttle doors hissed as it slid open, revealing the buzz of the Hangar. Soldiers were everywhere, having some of their wounds being filled with medigel by grey, mechanical arms, attached to a bipedal metal body. The air was tinged with the iron smell of blood, but was also mixed with the salty smell of medigel. Soldiers were groaning as the autodocs tended to them, servos grinding as they moved, few screaming as the anesthesia took over instantly. One soldier stood out to me. My target. I walked out the doors, making a beeline towards the lone soldier. I bumped into a soldier, only for the both of us to ignore it. I reached the lone soldier, shoving away an autodoc who was using its complex tools to replace his missing eye. I grabbed him by the collar, and forced my forehead into his face, an audible crunch heard as I broke his nose. He shouted in pain as I released him to fall to the floor.

I stood over him,"You're fucking lucky I'm not going to Court Martial you for insubordination!" I shouted at his bleeding face.

He stopped crying to speak to me, "But Maam, he was unarmed-!"

"He clearly fucking wasn't! seeing as how he did _all_ this!" I waved my arms to the setting around us, to the wounded soldiers who were having body parts replaced by autodocs, "So get it in your fucking head! Show mercy, or any hesitation whatsoever, and I will fucking kill you." I hissed that last part through my teeth.

The soldier was visibly shaken,"Yes maam."

I stood back, allowing the Autodoc to resume tending to his injuries, "Is it too much to ask pussies like you to grow a pair of balls now and then?" I asked. I looked around, noticing that a crowd of personnel had gathered to watch the display, ignoring the wounded soldiers, "Back to your stations soldiers!"

The crowd tensed up at my sudden attention, and it dispersed as quickly as a flock of seagulls on the ground.

I heard a beep in my ear, and placed a hand to it. I could tell by the sound of his breath over the comms who it was, "What is it Pressly?"

"Shepard." Pressly said calmly, with a hint of hostility towards her, "Anderson wants you at the CIC. Now."

"Care to tell me what he wants?" I said, with a tone of disrespect towards the Navigator.

"No." The line went silent, signifying that he had cut it.

I exited the Hangar, heading to the elevator. I felt the floor hum under my boots; the feeling of FTL travel. The floor shook as the elevator took off, the smell of blood escaping my nose through the elevator's separate air filters. I took a breath of fresh, filtered air, the hangar having delivered a feeling of anxiety just being there. I looked at metal walls, seeing a reflection of me.

My red hair was a mess, disheveled. I could barely see my face. I raised my hands to it, fingers outstretched, and combed it. I felt tangled hair tendrils being split a part by my fingers, forcing my hair to the sides. I could now see my face; weakly freckled, no lipstick, green eyes, thin eyebrows, and capped by medium sized, red hair. Without a scar, even though one should be right across my nose...

The elevator skidded to a stop. The doors slid open, revealing the CIC. Terminals were lit up with orange holographic monitors, manned on both sides of the galaxy map. Standing on the podium to the galaxy map, and in front of me, was Anderson.

I walked closer to him, my footsteps drawing his attention away from the map. I drew a hand, giving him a salute.

"Shepard." He waved a hand halfway up, "At ease."

I respectfully put down my hand to the side, "Captain."

He took a step down to be on even ground while he faced me, "How did the mission go?"

"Terrible," I said, clenching my hand to side in a fist, "One of the newer squad members decided to accept a batarian's surrender, only for the four eyed pig to detonate a bomb vest."

"Bomb vest?" Anderson placed his hand on his chin, looking down in thought, "It seems as though the Batarians have been becoming more desperate, ever since the Blitz," He put his hand down to look at me, "What about the Prisoners?"

"Some were roughed up real bad. The patrol ship that called for our help decided to take them in, tend to their trauma, and bring them back home."

"And the kid? The one who spared the Slaver." Anderson didn't seem particularly mad at that.

"Broke his nose a little. Teach him for pulling such a fucking dumb stunt." I inwardly cursed for swearing in front of the Captain.

He either ignored it or didn't notice it, "If you call showing a little mercy a stunt, so be it. Just...try not to be too hard on them next time."

"Understood." I looked around, realizing that we didn't even wait a little before jumping to FTL, "What's going on?"

Anderson turned back to the galaxy map, touching his command terminal. Markers appeared over several star systems, "Alliance Command has received reports from several colony systems that a small fleet of ships has been appearing."

"Let me guess;" I crossed my arms, expecting the usual shtick, "They want us to go out and investigate."

"I'm afraid it's more serious than that." He pressed another icon on his terminal, connecting the tagged systems with lines, "According to trajectory calculations, they're getting closer to one system: Sol."

My eyes widened, "Shit." I hissed out.

"We've been called to bolster defenses, in case if anyone wants to charge through our door step, they're gonna have a brick wall on the other end."

"We're not exactly a brick wall, sir. If it's them..." I didn't finish the sentence, as he knew exactly what I meant.

"We haven't confirmed if it's the Terragens. But if they are, we'll still have the new gadgets the Empire gave us."

"Like I'll trust an imperial rifle. I've been to one of their colonies. Everything talks Anderson! The bridges, the buildings, the cars, even the trashcans talk! How will you expect me to fight if my own gun asks me 'Hey Baby, love shooting my barrel?'." That last part wasn't really an exaggeration; It actually happened once.

"Somehow, I think you'll manage Shepard. You seem to have a way with words yourself." He glanced at the cockpit on the other side of the map, "Anyway, joker has already set course for Earth, and I expect you to brief him on the situation. Dismissed."

I gave Anderson a salute before I took off. I walked around the map, past the lines that were lit up in the hologram. Lines that led back to home. I continued to the cockpit, walking past all the people manning their terminals. I still had no idea what the Terminals even do, but I never bothered to ask.

As the Cockpit came into view, I overheard a conversation being played out by the two occupants.

"...bitchiness isn't very sexy." Joker's voice came within earshot, but I didn't make my presence known

"Oh for fu-why does everything have to be sexy with you?" Kaidan asked Incredulously, "Why can't anything be about skill? or intelligence? or strength?"

I heard probably the most fake snore I had ever heard, "...-ohoh sorry, were you saying something?"

I decided to interject,"Cut the chatter."

"Ah! Executive Officer!" Joker looked at me in surprise, "Kaidan was just talking about your boobs!"

"What-?" I was closest to him, so I decided to raise my opened hand and swung it into the back of his head, "OW!"

Joker went into a laughing fit, making me a little worried that he would break all his ribs.

Kaidan spun his seat around to face me,"Why do you always go easy on him?" He said like a little child, not daring to show any anger towards me.

"Cause he's crippled and yet still accomplished more than you sorry sack of shit."

"You tell it, XO." Joker gave a thumbs up.

"Joker, I swear to god I'll pinch your nose," To most people, that wouldn't sound very threatening.

To him though... "...Yes maam."

Kaidan glanced out the cockpit window, at the blue lights flying by, "So, do you know what the hell's going on?"

"Trouble floating towards Earth. Could be Terrors."

"Damn." Kaidans eyebrows straightened, "Do we at least have the lizards on our side? It'd be nice if I was given cover by a Dragon."

"Psh. Who needs the Lizards?" Joker waved a dismissive hand. He placed a thumb on his chest, "We got old human ingenuity on our side."

"Technically, the Lizards ARE human ingenuity." Kaidan crossed his arms, "Seeing as how we created them."

"Yeah, well that's the official story. And only an idiot believes the official story. Which is what you are. An idiot."

"You're kidding, right? The Lizards pretty much confirm every conspiracy theory to date. Lizard aliens, Check. Ancient lizard aliens, check. Time travelling aliens, check. Secret robot overlords, check. The list goes on and on."

"Okay, I have to admit, all the stuff the Lizards talk about _do_ make hardcore TRUTH seekers wet the bed at night...in a way that feels good. But, I mean, come on! there's no way they're telling us the whole truth! No shady-robot-ruled-empire would do that!"

"Why would they need to hide anything? Lying would just make things worst for them in the long run. And besides, everything they _did_ tell us didn't really make things better. Our alliance is more strained than it should be, and they were the ones who helped us during first contact!"

"Which, actually, brings up another problem: Why the hell our we better friends with the Citadel? Hell, why are we even apart of the Citadel?! There's no reason-"

"That's enough." They both tensed at my voice, "Your job is not to ask questions; It's to spin the steering wheel. A job you are hideously under qualified for, due to a certain...disability. Kaidan, I don't even know why you're here, seeing as how you should be training in the hangar."

Kaidan looked he was going to wet himself,"Yes maam."

"Good, and as punishment for slacking off, I'm coming down with to oversee your training. I expect to see 50."

Kaidan stood from his seat, and followed Shepard out of the cockpit doors, leaving joker alone.

He sat staring at the closed door, dumbfounded, "Goddamn...well, I'm starting to regret a very specific decision."

* * *

A man dressed in black N7 armor was sitting in a chair, his arms atop the arms of the chair. He may have looked relax, but he was far from it.

Tensely watching the tv screen, an news anchor standing in front of a back that bore the words 'ANN: Alliance News Network', "With reports of ships appearing throughout Alliance space, Earth's defenses have been reinforced with the backing of several fleets. From what we gather, ambassador Udina is currently in conference with the Citadel council and the Admirals of the Alliance Navy, overseeing a diplomatic conference between the two. In other news, a batarian pirat-"

The video went dark as I turned off the TV, hearing the door to the room swoosh open. Donnel Udina stepped through the door, noticing me.

He made a beeline for the table holding the alcoholic bottles.

"Is my sister on her way?" I asked as I stood from my chair.

"The admirals sent out an order to call her ship back." He said, as he poured himself a glass of Serrice Ice Brandy. He raised the glass to his mouth, and took a long sip, breathing out hard when he finished, "God, what a mess this is."

I think I already knew the answer, but I asked anyway, "How'd the call go?"

"Like always." He grabbed another glass, "Council rejected to provide aid." He filled both of the glasses, "The Empire wanted to give us an automated drone fleet, but the admirals didn't trust the drones not to turn on their own forces." He walked over, handing me the other glass. I took it.

"Seems valid. We've haven't exactly been at the best of relations with them." I took a sip, feeling the brandy burn down my throat.

"I don't understand it, really. Why hate them when they have so much to offer us? The council could get give us a huge standing in the wider galaxy, but the Empire's technology could really get things done."

I cracked a small grin, "I find it ironic that the son of Ziles Udina thinks so highly of the Empire."

"'like father, like son' he and I are not." Udina raised a hand to rub his head in frustration, "What was my father thinking? He completely ruined everyone's view of the Empire with his soundless accusations!"

"The Empire did admit that they were capable of doing everything he said." I took another sip, "And besides Udina, an authoritarian empire doesn't really look good on a list of allies."

"The Empire has showed no indication of a desire for conquest, nor violations of civil rights." He pointed a finger from his glass at me.

"To most people, they think there's no indication _so far_."

"I don't see a reason why, seeing as how they helped during the first contact war."

"Doesn't mean they're fine with the council either." Especially since a terrorist group exists because of the anti-council hate, "Speaking of, why didn't the council provide aid?"

"Some bullshit about them having their own problems, and that they trust our ability to defend ourselves. Fucking cowards, they're just running scared cause it might be the terrors-"He stopped himself.

My glass was to my mouth when he said the last part, "Donnel," I placed the glass back on the table, "you didn't say anything about it being the terrors."

"I'm sorry John. I was going to tell you-"

"You know what me and my sister went through during the Blitz." When the Blitz happened, me and my sister saw it as the most brutal, horrifying, and traumatizing battle we had ever taken part in. We changed our minds, when the Terrors joined the mix...

I gritted my teeth, "She's on her way here right now...and her ship's probably going to head the fight!"

"It might not be them John!"

"How big is the chance?" I grabbed him by the collar, "HOW BIG IS THE CHANCE?!"

Udina didn't say a thing. He just stared at me, with fear in his eyes...

I felt like I was going to throw-up, "...oh god."

* * *

Earth sat in its permanent corner of the galaxy. Green landmasses filled the planet, surrounded by deep-blue bodies of oceans. The corners of the planet that wasn't under the gaze of its giant sun, were lit by the omnipresent human cities. Above the planets surface, in orbit above the atmosphere, fleets of ships hang over the planet, guarding it against anything that threatened the home of humanity.

Far away from the planet, in an empty spot in space...there was a cloud. The darkest cloud anyone would ever see. The cloud left a trail as it flowed, tendrils of black smoke that would devour and consume any object it had a grasp on. The way it flowed was like a comet, with a heavy mass at the front, leaving the trail.

But the front was empty, devoid of anything save the storm it was made out of. An object was instead hidden in the trail of the cloud. A massive object, dwarfed by the intimidating vortex surrounding it, sat undisturbed in the trail. The object was an asteroid, about the size of japan. On the front side of the asteroid, opened cylindrical towers stood out, and like the chimney's of nuclear power plants, was attached to a trail of smoke, connecting the asteroid to the cloud surrounding it.

Across the surface of the asteroid, were domes. The domes dotted the asteroid, containing within entire ecosystems. Jungles, desserts, snowy mountains, forests, you name it. All united by one common thing; darkness. There was no light at all penetrating the domes, leaving their interiors in complete darkness. The darkness would be significant, were it not for the nocturnal nature of its inhabitants. Monstrous beasts feasted on prey that feasted on plants which also feasted on animals. While most of a domes interior were wild, there corners that held signs of civilization. Medieval castles, of many diverse cultures, were located in the domes.

One castle, however, was the one most abuzz with activity. Unlike most castles, which were simply lone towers, this one had a massive crowd surrounding it. A crowd in the thousands, if not millions. The beings were humanoid, of a pale-grey skin tone. They stood with slender frames, gangly claws, and pointed ears. The stone tower they surrounded had a balcony at it's top. The balcony was empty, but the entrance to it contained a room with a being. A being was the same race as the ones below. It wore spiked, dark armor, with wisps of smoke being emitted from it. It had black, combed back, and pierced pointed ears. His eyes, including the usually white sclera, was completely pitch black.

He just stood silently, staring at a holographic map showing a marker that represented the cloud, surrounded by planetary bodies and a single star. As if a second, hollow and cavernous voice was beside his own, he hissed, "...Finally."

* * *

CODEX ENTRY

Terrors: Monsters that came out of the Terror Sphere. These demons threaten the entirety of galactic society, dooming every corner to oblivion, should the main opposing powers waver.

The Lizards: Beasts forged from the Terror Sphere. They are apart of an Authoritarian and Conquering Empire dead set on disrupting the balance of Peace.

The Goram Grammaton: The only true friend that came from the Terror Sphere. Wanting to escape the horror the monsters surrounding them created, the Grammaton contacting the Alliance, seeking aid in its quest to create a safe haven away from the Terror Sphere.

The Terror Sphere: The most incestuous and hellish pit there is. The Terror Sphere is home to the lizards, The terrors, and the place of torment of the Goram Grammaton. It must be blocked off from the wider Galaxy at all costs.


End file.
